HARTFORD, CT – Connecticut may see slightly lower voter turnouts on Election Day this year than in prior presidential elections thanks to the success of early voting, officials said Monday.
But that’s because voters for the first time in a general election can vote when it’s convenient for them – whether that’s on the way to the grocery store or on the way home from church on a Sunday morning.
“Voters are just happy to have options,” Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas said during a news conference Monday.
As of Monday morning – halfway through early voting – 313,550 voters had already cast their ballots. Combined with the number of absentee ballots received so far, Thomas estimates that about 17% of registered voters across the state have already voted.
Towns with the highest number of early voters so far include: West Hartford (7,304); Fairfield (7,036); Stamford (6,627); Norwalk (6,538) and Hamden (6,222). Those numbers do not include absentee ballots.
On the first day of early voting, Oct. 21, more than 56,000 people cast their ballots. Participation tapered off a little after the first day but remains high, Thomas said.
Based on what officials saw in the primaries this year, the early voting turnout is higher than anticipated, Thomas said, but it’s also not a complete surprise based on the high interest (60%) from Connecticut voters who approved a constitutional amendment allowing early voting in 2022.
“I’m not surprised it’s popular,” Thomas said, “but I’m surprised enough people knew about it to show up.”
There was no budget for public education or outreach about early voting this year, she said, but word has gotten out, for the most part. Except many are still unaware that polls were open all weekend and will be open again next weekend, she said.
The early voting period is 14 days, running Monday, Oct. 21, through Sunday, Nov. 3. Each municipality in Connecticut has designed at least one early voting polling location, which can be found online here. Polls for in-person early voting are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with extended hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31.
Feedback from local registrars so far is that people are positive and happy about being able to vote early, and more seniors and people with physical disabilities have shown up to vote than in prior elections, Thomas said.
While some lawmakers have raised concerns raised about having adequate staffing at the polls, Thomas said there has been no problem finding poll workers. About 2,800 volunteers across the state are helping this year, and registrars and poll workers have been preparing for this for at least a year and are working “tirelessly around the clock” to make sure things run smoothly.
“Make sure you thank your poll workers,” she said.
A few hiccups have been reported so far. Some towns were running short on ballots, but had time to request more before they ran out, Thomas said.
In Stonington, a poll worker mistakenly handed out ballots for the wrong district. Just over 500 had been given out, but because it was caught fairly early and because the sealed ballots have everyone’s name on the outside of the envelopes, voters were contacted and given the chance to come back and cast a correct ballot, Thomas said.
Early voter ballots cannot be opened until 6 a.m. on Election Day. That’s when ballots will be fed into tabulators, and towns already have plans for processing them as soon as possible to avoid any delays in getting votes counted by the midnight deadline, Thomas said.
Under state law, absentee ballots cannot be opened until 10 a.m., and they may take longer to process because they come in two envelopes – a mailing envelope that needs to be opened, then the ballot envelope, and then the ballot itself.
Thomas stressed that election security is a high priority, with national agencies sharing concern about foreign actors focusing on destabilizing American elections. She also cautioned that there will be an uptick in misinformation after the elections, and for everyone to be vigilant.
“We are working tirelessly to make sure our elections are secure,” Thomas said. “But we need members of the public to speak up and report issues when they see something.”
Anyone who has concerns about election interference or any other issues at the polls – for early voting or on Election Day – can call the SEEC elections hotline at 1-866-733-2463.
The sign behind Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, reads “VOTE = VOICE, DON’T LOSE YOURS” at a news conference in Hartford. Credit: Viktoria Sundqvist / CTNewsJunkie